November 4, 2020 Atlanta: Fulton County election workers started counting and scanning ballots again on Wednesday Nov. 4, 2020 as the State and the Nation waited for the results. (John Spink / [email protected])
By Greg Bluestein and Mark Niesse
State seems poised for twin Jan. 5 Senate showdowns
Joe Biden pulled within about 18,000 votes of President Donald Trump in Georgia early Thursday as election workers counted tens of thousands of absentee ballots, while U.S. Sen. David Perdue prepared for a likely January runoff for a second term against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Trump’s once-formidable lead over Biden steadily shrank throughout Wednesday as mail-in ballots trickled in, giving Democrats a chance to carry Georgia for the first time in a White House race since 1992.
Perdue hovered near the 50-percent threshold as ballots from metro Atlanta and Chatham County were tallied through the night. The Republican’s campaign said it was prepared for overtime, required by Georgia law if no candidate gets a majority of the vote.
“If overtime is required when all of the votes have been counted, we’re ready, and we will win,” said Perdue campaign manager Ben Fry.
Georgia’s other U.S. Senate seat is already headed toward a Jan. 5 showdown, with incumbent Kelly Loeffler facing Democrat Raphael Warnock in the matchup.
The slow count put Georgia and a dwindling number of other battlegrounds in the spotlight as the undecided presidential race tightened with Biden flipping Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.
About 60,000 absentee ballots, mostly concentrated in metro Atlanta and Savannah, remained to be tallied. County election officials once promised to complete most of their counts Wednesday, but the timeline shifted to Thursday. There are also thousands of provisional ballots and military absentees that will trickle in over the next few days.
State elections officials say most of the counting of absentee ballots should be wrapped up Thursday, but stressed that provisional ballots, military overseas votes and others won’t be tallied for days more. Gabriel Sterling, the state voting system implementation manager, urged Georgians to be patient.
“Fast is great,” he said. “We appreciate fast. We more appreciate accuracy.”
At stake are Georgia’s 16 electoral votes, which could be enough for swing Biden over the 270 votes needed nationwide to become president, according to counts by The Associated Press.
And more could hinge on the Jan. 5 runoffs, required if no candidate gets a majority of the vote. The dual contests could potentially determine control of the U.S. Senate if Biden wins the White House.
Read the original story on AJC.com.
